SwtM - Fox Islands Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

The Mitten Crew: Year Nine of Smitten with the Mitten series has come to a close.

Thanks to all who visited the caches in this summer series and learned a bit about Islands in Michigan.

The caches will be picked up over the next few days.

We cannot guarantee they will still be there if you go out for them, but to quote the movie Dumb and Dumber, "So what you're saying is ... there's a chance"

Be sure to get your pathtag requests in by September 11th.

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Hidden : 5/9/2018
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:




Nice walk along the river. Park near the provided parking coordinates.

The Fox Islands consist of the North Fox and South Fox islands, in Lake Michigan. The uninhabited islands are approximately 17 miles northwest of Cathead Point near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan and about 10 miles southwest of Beaver Island. The three islands form part of an archipelago. South Fox Island Light was built in 1867 and operated until 1959.

North Fox is the smaller of the two islands, 820 acres in area, roughly 2 miles wide by 1 mile long. This island was purchased by real estate magnate David V. Johnson in 1994 for $1.3 million, and the entire island was sold back to the state of Michigan for $2.2 million at the end of the year 2000. The island is currently operated as part of the Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area. North Fox Island has an operational public 3,000-foot-long by 100-foot-wide turf airstrip as of 8/2015, making it accessible by general aviation.

In the mid-1970s a child pornography ring was discovered operating on North Fox Island. The proprietor of the island, Francis Shelden, used his position in a large social program called the Brother Paul's Children's Mission to fly boys in his private plane to his island retreat. The Ann Arbor News published a story in their weekend magazine on the proprietor's life, then published a second story when the crimes were uncovered. The crimes have long been suspected to have ties to the Oakland County Child Killer case.

South Fox Island is 3,430 acres in area, and about 5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. As of 2001, David V. Johnson also owned about two-thirds of South Fox. The other third was owned by the state of Michigan, including the two lighthouses on the southern tip of the island. There is no ferry service to South Fox, and it has no docks, fuel or sheltered harbor. However, a private airport with a 5,500-foot private runway can accommodate jet aircraft.

Two generations of the South Fox Island Light stand at the southern extremity of the island. The first, built in 1867, is a brick house with attached tower; the second, a skeletal tower, is the former Sapelo Island Light, which was moved to the site in 1934. The Fox Island Lighthouse Association (FILA), a non-profit organization, was formed in 2004 to aid in preservation of the light station structures.

Johnson built a paved runway and a residence on the southern island. He had originally proposed swapping North Fox Island with the state for the third of South Fox that he did not own, but he settled in 2003 for a consolidation deal which traded 218 acres of state owned land on the southern part of South Fox for 219 acres on the north and central parts of the same island. This deal was finalized in March 2003.

South Fox Island boasts some of the most spectacular freshwater maritime scenery in the world, including towering dunes, virgin cedars, and untouched beaches. The island includes a cemetery where members of the Grand Traverse Band of Native Americans are currently buried. Deer were introduced onto the island in 1915. Hunting is permitted on state land by permit only.
Visit 14 geocaches in the SwtM series. At each geocache collect a letter and number combination. Insert them into the phrase: FiTS LIKe A GlOVE
Use the coordinates from the phrase to find the final geocache and become a Mitten Master
Power Island North Manitou South Manitou
Belle Isle Mackinac Island Isle Royale
Sugar Island High Island Harsens Island
Garden Island Fox Islands Drummond Island
Grosse Ile Beaver Island Mitten Master

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybpx a Ybpx Haqre ybt

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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